Storm Chasing Dog Drives Straight Into Tornados

Reed Timmer has weathered his fair share of storms, and always has his sidekick with him, a 5-pound Yorkshire terrier.

The professional extreme storm chaser is rarely without his dog, Gizmo. Gizmo has been chasing storms for most of her life and at 14 years old, she's seen so many that it could land her in the Guinness Book of World Records.

"I think it is a record the number of tornados she's seen," Timmer told Newsweek, adding that Gizmo has seen more than 200 tornados and 10 hurricanes. "We are considering applying for the Guinness Book of World Records. She was born into the storm chasing life."

Gizmo has traveled with Timmer through 48 states and several Canadian provinces where she has ridden in armored vehicles to intercept severe storms, including tornados and Nor'easter blizzards. She was even in the eyewall of Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 hurricane that made landfall in Mexico Beach, Florida, in 2018.

With all those storms, there's bound to be a close call, and Gizmo has had several. In 2019, Gizmo, Timmer and his team were chasing a tornado near McCook, Nebraska. The pair became separated from their armored vehicle and were consumed by a debris cloud as the tornado rapidly intensified.

Timmer tucked Gizmo, who was sporting a pink cast for a broken toe, into his arm like she was a football and turned his back against the wind to keep her safe.

Gizmo was even hit by a tornado at Timmer's house in Oklahoma when he was following a different storm in 2015, but the 5-pound Yorkie emerged unscathed.

Timmer, who works for AccuWeather as a meteorologist and storm chaser, starred in Discovery Channel's Storm Chaser in 2008. Like Timmer, Gizmo has her own television credits, as well. She made appearances in National Geographic's Storm Rising, which followed Timmer and Mike Theiss in 2021. She is also well-loved by Timmer's fans and often makes an appearance on his social media pages.

Where most dogs are known to become nervous in a storm, Gizmo remains fearless through it all. She even seems to enjoy the severe storms, Timmer said.

"She loves storms, I think, because she can feel our excitement," he said. "There's a sense of calm when we are on the right storm, and I think, maybe, she can sense that."

Timmer, who has been chasing storms since 1996, adopted Gizmo when she was just about a month old. He started bringing Gizmo along when she was 2 years old because she "just wanted to go so bad" and would beg to go with Timmer whenever he'd step out the door.

"She's my life partner," Timmer said. "She's the only storm-chasing dog I've ever had."